Do I Want to Know
by PINKvsBLUE
Summary: A year after the final battle at Hogwarts, Hermione finds herself needing an escape. So she enrols in Conscientia the wizarding equivalent of college not expecting to deal with one Draco Malfoy. Without realising it the two of them get wrapped up in a mystery and have to learn how to navigate each other. Did they sign up for more than they could handle? Some drama/angst/romance/fun
1. Present Day

**A/N: Ok so for those of you who have been reading the story, I know this is confusing but please consider this Chapter 1 and as the Present Day. The following Chapters (that you will have read) are a few months back and will lead up to this point. **

**I know its odd back posting but I think this will help the story.**

**Chapter 1**

**Present day**

Draco knocked frantically at the door. A second later he took out his wand to literally blast it open, when it swung back revealing an agitated looking Blaise.

'Draco, what the hell are you doing?'Blaise asked while checking the time to make sure that he wasn't mistaken and that it was actually 3 o'clock in the morning.

'Blaise, do you know where Hermione is?' Draco rushed out and almost grabbed his friend's shirt, he wanted an answer now.

'If I had to venture a guess, Draco,' Blaise replied calmly. He hadn't seemed to grasp the urgency of the situation as of yet. 'She would be in her room, in bed, sleeping like I was a mere few minutes ago.'

'She's not.' Draco suddenly understood that he had to calm down and explain things. 'Blaise, I can't sense her. She's there but she's not. I checked her room. I thought maybe...'

'You thought maybe we had gone to a party again or something.' Blaise filled in the rest of Draco's thoughts and finally knew that something was not quite right.

'What do you mean you can't sense her? Like it's dulled out again?'

'No, it's different. I can't explain it, Blaise something isn't right.' Blaise hesitated for a second running a hand through his hair and then over his tired eyes.

'Draco, you don't think…'

'I do.' Draco confirmed and for the first time that evening the panic Draco was feeling seemed to be seeping into Blaise.

'We need to get, Potter.' Blaise shot out shattering his calm demeanour, at the same time he reached behind him and grabbed his wand as well as a jacket that was hanging behind his door.

'I don't think we have time.' And as Draco spoke those words a cold chilling sensation filled him. Something had just happened, something was wrong and they needed to get going now.


	2. Really

**A/N: Just a few things about this story, there will be no Ron bashing, I like Ron I feel like book Ron isn't actually the worst pairing for Hermione but I like the idea of Draco a bit more! The idea of two complete opposites being attracted to each other, and especially because Draco isn't this perfect character. So yes, this a Hermione and Draco story and they are endgame but no I will not be bashing Ron in the process.**

**Also just some further insight into the story it is going to have some angst, I feel like after the final battle it would be really unrealistic if all the characters just went back to normal without some issues they first needed to resolve, even if it is a year later. I wanted to look at this idea specifically from Hermione's point of view. I am going to throw her and Draco in together in an unexpected way, forcing them to interact. There will also of course be some fun times!**

**Anyway I like the idea of them being in college, I think you can have a lot of fun with it. **

**Last but not least please review guys if you like this! It would mean a lot. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter and this purely just for fun.**

* * *

**Do I Want to Know…**

**A Few Months Prior**

**Chapter 2: Really**

Hermione straightened her back and checked the time, she _really_ needed to go, but she kept standing there facing her two best friends. Hell, who was she kidding? They weren't just her best friends they were as good as her family. And right now they needed her to stay there and talk out her decision with them once more.

'Hermione,' Ron started and put his hands out, palms facing up, as if the gesture explained it all. 'You _really _do not need to go.'

'You could have any job you wanted,' Harry added in looking almost as desperate as Ron. 'Hell, they let Ron and I start training to be Aurors on Monday-'

'Of course they would, not so long ago we did get rid of the darkest wizard of our time.' Hermione interjected before Harry could finish his sentence. She said it as if she was casually expressing what she had for breakfast or what she planned to do for the day. Really, just getting rid of the darkest wizard of their time was not something slight, and it seemed to still be intertwined with Hermione in ways she was desperately trying to get rid of. Something she had kept from Harry and Ron.

'Right,' Harry continued. Not letting Hermione's distraction change his train of thought. 'My point being is you are a hell of lot smarter than Ron and I put together. You don't need the extra qualification. After all you've done they will let you pick what department you want to train in. You don't need to be an Auror Hermione, but you don't need to leave either.'

'Stay with us.' Ron added in and Hermione groaned. She put a hand to her forehead and then ran it down across her eyes. She finally looked backed and noticed in the distance a figure walking towards them, she sighed inwardly with relief, she could _really _use her help.

'Boys, I'm not going forever and we already went over this. I will visit as much as I can. But I need to go. I just need to figure out what I want and this is the only way I can think of doing that.'

'Hermione, what if it ends up being like our Hogwarts years all over again?' Ron stated flatly and Hermione knew exactly what he meant. She knew it was their biggest concern, that some mystery would come up and she would get stuck in the middle of it without them there. Or that some wizard would try to get to her to get to Harry- who unfortunately still had some Voldemort followers to deal with.

'Ron, as far as I know Harry only had one life threatening prophecy made about him which happened to play out during our school years. And as his friend I dealt with it too, but Harry is now just a boring guy and therefore I shouldn't be facing any mysteries. No offence, Harry.' She said to him quickly and gave him a small smile. Harry actually couldn't help but give a small chuckle at that.

'Oh come on now,' another voice joined the conversation and all three of them turned to look at Ginny. 'Hermione really needs to go, you two!' Ginny was grinning but there was something about her that seemed slightly sad. She walked over to Harry who wrapped an arm around her waist.

'What are you doing here?' Harry asked Ginny in a confused tone.

'I asked her to come,' Hermione said before Ginny could answer. 'I thought I may need some help. Especially if your tactic was to keep me here until I missed the train.' She looked pointedly at Ron and then Harry. They boys gave a guilty smile. Finally, Harry sighed and released Ginny. He walked over to Hermione and pulled her into a hug.

'It's going to be weird without you,' he said to her softly while hugging her. He pulled back but kept his hands on her shoulders. 'Keep safe. We expect frequent letters and if you need anything we are an apparition away.' Hermione nodded, her throat was starting to burn and she wasn't sure she could handle the temporary goodbye for much longer. She turned to Ron now who was looking at the ground. Ginny gave him a nudge in the side with her elbow, he shot her an irritated look and then finally looked back at Hermione. She knew he was unhappy about this, and she didn't blame him. It had been a year since Harry had defeated Voldemort and things were slowly starting to get into a normal rhythm again, that is, until Hermione woke up one day and changed it all. Ron walked over to her and finally pulled her into a hug, he was so tall, Hermione thought to herself as she wrapped her arms around his stomach. He placed a small kiss on the top of her head.

'Keep safe, Hermione.' Ron finally said and let her go, he walked back to stand by Harry.

'Ginny, thank you.' Hermione said to her and had to hope her voice didn't sound like it was about to crack. She walked over to Ginny and pulled her into a hug. Ginny understood why Hermione was leaving and had helped her convince the boys. She had been nothing but supportive and Hermione could not express in words how thankful she was for Ginny's help.

'I'm going to miss you.' Ginny said when Hermione pulled away and picked up her bag. 'We all are.' Ginny added in and once again Harry wrapped an arm around her waist in a comforting gesture for both her and him.

'I'll see you guys soon.' Hermione said and she meant it. She would be back whenever she had free time not to mention holidays. She looked at the saddened expressions they were all wearing and knew that now was the time to leave. She gave them one small smile before turning around and walking determinedly to the train, refusing to look back at them and show them the tears crawling down her cheeks, something which seemed to happen a lot these days. Much to her frustration.

* * *

Draco readjusted his shirt and tried to hide his displeasure, he _really _wanted this to be over with. He wanted to apparate away and have some space. _Where the hell was Blaise?_ He watched as his mom fussed some more over him, something she had been doing everyday for the past year. His dad had unsurprisingly been sent to Azkaban for a few years. Granted the sentence could have been worst, but since then his mom had made it her mission to coddle Draco as much as possible. She barely let him out of her sight and it was really starting to wear on him. He knew she meant well and things had been a lot easier since his dad had been sent away, but he really just needed some time and space to come to terms with everything and everyone. Since the battle at Hogwarts Draco had been revaluating a lot of ideals he had once been certain were the right things to believe in. He was about to tell his mom that she needed to stop when there was distinct popping sounding and Blaise appeared in the room, luggage behind him. He was wearing an expression of absolute pleasure; he was a lot more excited about this idea than Draco was.

'Ready to go, Draco? We'll be late if we don't leave soon.' If one thing could be said for Blaise it was that he had an uncanny ability to read a room and the atmosphere within in it, regardless of how hard the occupants were trying to conceal their true feelings. It was apparent to Draco that Blaise knew he wanted to leave immediately, and because they were apparating there really was no actual rush. But Blaise had said it with such conviction that no one, specifically his mom, would doubt his words or the fact that they would be late if they didn't leave soon. Draco gave a nod to Blaise and walked over to his mom. He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

'I will be sure to write and come visit soon, mom.' Draco added before turning away and picking up his bags which had all his necessary belongings in it.

'Ready?' Blaise asked once more and picked up his own bag while readjusting his jacket. Draco nodded once again. 'Always a pleasure, Mrs Malfoy.' Blaise inclined his head and with that the two boys concentrated on their destination and apparated away.

* * *

Hermione stepped off the train and immediately paused letting her eyes adjust to the sudden light. The area she was in was said to have a rather unique weather system, it was hotter than any other place in the UK and colder than any other place too. It seemed to run on its own climate, Hermione wondered if it had to do with the fact that this area in the countryside was supposed to be magically rich. She wasn't sure what that had actually meant while reading up on it, rich in terms of the amount of magical occupants or did the actual land seem to pulse with more magic than other places within the UK? She figured it was most likely the latter option. She took a deep breath and began to walk up to the main grounds, the air was fresh and everything was so green, that is except for the flowers that seemed to be more vivid in colouring that anything else. Some of the flowers were purple and pink, others bright orange and some of them, Hermione noted, almost looked blue-grey. She finally stopped and looked at the place that she would be calling home for the foreseeable future. Hermione knew she had made the right decision by taking the train here instead of just apparating in. Being able to walk up to this place and take in its surroundings were worth it. She stared up at Conscientia which was smaller than Hogwarts but looked just as elaborate. It had high arches and windows everywhere. It was a grey-brown colour that screamed of oldness but modernity at the same time. This place was the wizarding world equivalent of college. It was one of a handful of places were wizards and witches went to further their education after school and specialise in specific magic. Hermione had had the idea a few months ago to apply and attend Conscientia. She had wanted a place where she could hopefully sort out a few things and lose herself in learning. Something she badly missed. More than that though she _really_ needed something different but not something completely radical, something she could adjust easily to. A Hogwarts away from Hogwarts. She felt odd knowing she would be without Harry and Ron but she was sure she would manage and truthfully attending Conscientia was the first thing, in a very long time, she had felt any semblance of excitement over.

She finally entered the grounds and went to find the Welcome Centre. An old lady with glasses that made her look like an owl was seated at the only table within the hall. There was a small line and Hermione patiently waited within it. Conscientia did not have a large student body, but standing in line and looking around Hermione was surprised to note that she did not recognise one person. She finally reached the front. The old lady worked efficiently, and immediately asked Hermione for her name without looking up. In actual fact, she had not bothered to glance up at one student so far.

'Name!?' She croaked out again in an irritated fashion when Hermione had not answered in an appropriate response time.

'Uh, Hermione Jean Granger.' She immediately responded and watched as the lady scrawled her name down on a piece of parchment. Mid scrawl, however, the lady stopped and with great effort it seemed, raised her head to meet Hermione's eye.

'Hermione Granger?' She said in a voice much too loud for the quietness surrounding the hall.

'Yes.' Hermione responded shifting uncomfortably.

'The Hermione Granger?'

'Uh?'

'Who helped and is best friends with Harry Potter?' Hermione could feel her face turning scarlet. Hermione gave a meagre nod but she could suddenly feel a lot people eyes on her.

'Look, could you just tell me where I need to go?' Hermione said softly and as politely as she could.

'Of course,' the lady quickly responded and kept her eyes on Hermione for a few extra seconds before rummaging in small pile of envelopes which was next to a much larger pile of envelopes. 'Here is your welcome package it has everything in it that you need to know. Schedules, room key, eating times, a map and the closest locations to Conscientia.' Hermione nodded and took the package.

'Thank you.' The older woman looked like she was about to say something else to her but Hermione quickly turned and left, ignoring the eyes following her out of the room. She found a shaded spot outside, it was rather hot for spring, and she shuddered at what the summer would be like. She opened the envelope, noted her room number and took out her key, she consulted the map and then was on her way to locate her room. One of the exceptionally nice things about Conscientia was that because the student body was so small everyone had their own personal room, with only about five rooms on each level. There were no houses and as far she could tell no divisions in terms of gender. Boys and girls stayed on the same levels. There were of course certain rules put in place, but just like an ordinary college they treated you like an adult and removed certain prohibitions which are necessary in school. It was up to you how you went about things here and it was up to you the type of experience you would have here. Hermione reached her room and was happy to note that it seemed to be in a quieter part of the college. The corridor had two huge windows on either side that let in a lot of light. The place looked beautiful. She opened her room and walked in, surprised to find how elaborate the accommodation actually was. She put her bag down and immediately went to sit on the comfy looking couch in the one corner of her room. She took a deep breath and looked around her taking in all the details. She _really_ needed this plan of hers to work out.

* * *

Once Draco and Blaise arrived at Conscientia they took a few minutes to admire the surroundings and the new girls they were soon to be acquainted with. After which, they went and got the necessary information packets, their rooms were not on the same level but were in the same building. Draco looked around his room and was pleased with it, it was bigger than it had seemed and they were free to arrange it however they liked. He hadn't seen anyone else on his floor yet, not that he was surprised at that, there were only five rooms per level and people were still arriving. He immediately began unpacking, feeling for the first time in awhile carefree and relaxed. About two hours later Draco decided he had done enough for now and should probably go get Blaise and explore the surroundings a bit. He had just opened his door and took a step out when he stopped dead in his tracks and groaned.

* * *

Hermione got out of the shower, got dressed in her jeans and casual top, placed her wand in the back pocket of her jeans and then checked the time. Lunch would be served soon, she was hungry enough to eat and figured she should go talk to some people and see if there was anyone around she already knew. She quickly tied her hair in a plait loosely to the side, a few strands falling free and then consulted the map once more, grabbed her keys and turned to leave. She had just opened her door when a figure from the room directly across from hers emerged. She stood in the door and let out a groan which matched the groan of the individual standing opposite her. This _really _cannot be happening, she thought to herself! She shut her eyes for a second hoping her mind was playing a trick on her but when she opened them she was still staring at Draco Malfoy. Immediately her hand went to her wand.

* * *

Draco stood there speechless as he watched Hermione Granger standing in the doorway of the room opposite him. What were the chances he thought? He watched her carefully, as she closed her eyes and then opened them once more, and then a look of anger and panic crossed her features and the next thing Draco knew Hermione Granger had reached for her wand and was pointing it right at him.

'If one derogatory word comes out of your mouth, Malfoy,' Hermione said severely, 'I will hex you right here, right now!' Draco concentrated on her words and not on her wand. He threw up his hands defensively.

'I will stay out of your way if you stay out of mine?' Draco suggested a moment later. Hermione considered him, he noted that she seemed to be _really_ considering him. What was going through her mind he wondered?

'Fine.' She said a moment later and before he could say anything else or note anything else about her, she reached behind her, shut her door, placed her wand away and walked off. Not looking back.

Draco watched her go. Did that _really_ just happen?

* * *

**A/N: If you liked it, please review! Next chapter will be up soon!**


	3. Elemental Charms

**Head back to Chapter 1 if you just got the new chapter posted email!**

**A/N: Just a few things, this story didn't get a lot of hits. I'm really hoping that will change because I'm really excited about it. If anyone has any suggestions about where I could post this to possibly get more people interested in it please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated. **

**I know the first few chapters just set everything up but it will get interesting really quickly. Also there will be a slight mystery element to this story too so the plotline isn't actually just based on what happens in this chapter. And it won't be all angst there will be some light hearted moments too. **

**Please review!**

**Chapter 3: Elemental Charms **

_'I will stay out of your way if you stay out of mine?' Draco suggested a moment later. Hermione considered him, he noted that she seemed to be__really __considering him. What was going through her mind he wondered?_

_'Fine.' She said a moment later and before he could say anything else or note anything else about her, she reached behind her, shut her door, placed her wand away and walked off. Not looking back._

_Draco watched her go. Did that __really __just happen?_

* * *

Hermione stood in front of her door and looked down at her room key. She marveled at how the key transformed into the shape it needed to open the door only when she touched it. Tentatively, she put her key in the door and then slowly turned it hearing the click of the lock. She had made a habit of locking her door ever since she found out who was occupying the room across from hers. She knew she had stalled long enough and needed to leave now or she would be late for her first class. She just hoped that she wouldn't run into Malfoy once she stepped out of her room. Hermione closed her eyes for a second and then left. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the empty corridor. Quickly she shut her door and began walking away.

Hermione had to admit that she found it quite ironic that there would be no philosopher's stones, chambers, dementors or just general dark wizards to deal with but there would be Draco Malfoy. And he just had to be placed in the room opposite hers. In the bigger scheme of things she figured he was really only a minor inconvenience and she would be able to deal with him. She was Hermione Jean Granger after all and that meant something.

* * *

'Blaise, remind me why we signed up for this again?' Draco asked Zabini as they took their seat. Their first class was advanced Charms with a focus on "eliciting actions out of charms" for this semester. Neither Draco nor Blaise had any idea what that had actually meant but they still ended up choosing the class. The students of Conscientia were free to choose the subject they would like to study as long as their schooling grades had been high enough. In the case of the Hogwarts students who had essentially missed out on their NEWTS, their sixth year marks and OWLS were looked at. Of course, a general exception for their admittance had been given due to the extenuating circumstances they had been thrust into, at least that's how it had been phrased in their letters which had offered them a chance to apply.

'Well, you needed a valid escape from your mom,' Blaise said casually while he ran a hand through his dark hair. 'And I was just bored.' Draco gave a soft chuckle at that and then swiftly took out his book for this class. His attention slowly started to turn to the people entering the room he was surprised to see that there weren't many people he recognized. He had expected otherwise, due to the small student size of Conscientia. He watched curiously as Luna Lovegood, a girl he had never interacted with but had heard plenty about in Hogwarts, entered casually and took a seat looking thoroughly unconcerned with anything going on about her. A minute later the son of Marcus Orcane (a rather famous wizard in Europe who seemed to dabble in the dark arts) entered and took a seat- Draco had heard about Marcus Orcane's son but had never actually met him. Slowly, the class began to fill up. He knew the Charms professor had had a reputation of having one of the best courses here, so he wasn't that surprised to find it a popular choice. As Draco's curiosity had been satisfied for the moment he turned back to Blaise.

'At least Granger hasn't appeared,' Draco said to Blaise a bit louder than he would have liked. The buzzing noise created by the students chatter seemed to be increasing with every moment that passed.

'You should really stop scowling, Draco.' Blaise said in response, and tried to hide the slight amusement he gained from seeing Draco upset over Granger.

"Blaise, I never scowl that is unbecoming for a Malfoy." The laughter that statement elicited in Blaise actually made some heads turn in their direction.

"Apparently, when it comes to Granger you do."

"I mean come on! I have to live across from her and we have to sit in classes with that annoying know it all again." Blaise shrugged and his indifference was apparent to Draco. It was something that had been there since Hogwarts, well Blaise fit in well with the Slytherins he never bothered to harass the muggle-borns like that the rest of them had. He always seemed indifferent about it all and if Draco was honest it was a trait he wished he had learnt.

'You should take this opportunity-' Blaise suddenly stopped talking at the same time that the rest of the students in the room had fallen silent. Draco and Blaise both turned to see what had made a deadly silence fall across the room. Draco's eyes fell on the source within a matter of moments. Hermione Granger was standing in the doorway. He noted how she seemed to have frozen in step and looked extremely uncomfortable. It irritated him that people had this reaction to her, he just couldn't understand it. He watched curiously as she seemed to debate what to do and then out of the blue Draco suddenly saw a blanket of Blonde hair standing in front of Hermione.

'Really people, you should have better manners than that. You would think you all just saw a Snackleflout.' Luna said that loudly to the other students who first seemed to be taken back by her statement and then completely confused by it.

'Hermione,' Luna said to her. 'It's really good to see you.' Instantly Draco watched as Hermione seemed to find herself. She hugged Luna and then with her head held high she walked across the room and took a seat next to Luna. Draco eyes were still on her, he couldn't quite understand it but her presence here seemed to bother him more than it had at Hogwarts.

* * *

The relief Hermione had felt when Luna had approached her was nothing like she had felt before. She was not used to being stared at like that and it happened all the time these days. Some of the people were amazed by her, others expected her to tell them everything about Harry and Voldemort and some seemed to be bothered by her. The attention she was receiving- and had been for the past year- was nothing in comparison to what Harry had been getting but it was something she had become accustomed too. Something she desperately wished would stop. She glanced around the room and briefly her eyes fell on Draco and Blaise who were watching her with as much concentration as the others were. Her attention was grabbed back by Luna who had greeted her, without really thinking about it Hermione hugged her. Although the two girls personalities varied quite substantially Hermione had nothing but respect for Luna who had fought alongside them since their fifth year and all through the final battle. There was nothing quite like war to solidify friendships between people who ordinarily would not get along. Hermione calmly and without reacting to the rest of the class walked to a seat and sat down. A soft buzz was beginning up again. Hermione didn't dare to look around but she could feel eyes on her. She knew someone or multiple people were still staring at her.

* * *

'Welcome to Charms!' A deep voice suddenly filled the room and once more a silence fell immediately. 'I am Professor Rochester. ' The professor who was rather tall, had graying streaks in his brown hair and brilliant yellow eyes flicked his wand and a chart of some sort seemed to appear. 'My class will teach you how to master charms, you will do things you never thought possible. Unfortunately, not all of you will flower in this class and at the end of two months I will be asking some of you to leave. In order to aid this process of elimination I will assign you partners to work with at the end of this week. Before I do this I will need you to complete an assignment on elemental Charms pertaining to individual's trait personalities. Can anyone tell me what I mean by this?' Draco rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.

'How many seconds do you think it will take Granger's hand to shoot into the air?' Draco whispered maliciously to Blaise, fully expecting Hermione to answer the question like she always had in their Hogwarts days.

'None.' Blaise replied curiously and Draco gave him a confused look. Blaise nodded in the direction of Hermione and finally Draco looked over at her. She had not raised her hand. She hadn't even opened her book. Draco watched at the curious behaviour she was displaying.

'I guess there is something she doesn't know after all.' Blaise whispered to the back of Draco's head.

'That is disappointing.' Professor Rochester continued pulling Draco's attention back to him. Eagerly Draco waited for the Professor to ask another question and within a matter of moments he had, and yet again Hermione did not answer. Her odd behavior intrigued Draco but he wrote it off as a fluke of the class. He was sure her annoying-answer-all-questions trend would start again soon enough…

But it didn't. Draco watched as Hermione stayed silent in Potions, Healing and Transfiguration. Those were the only other classes he seemed to have with her. He noted how the entire week she made no move to interact in any way that wasn't absolutely necessary for the class. He watched her barely open books and as the days passed his curiosity grew. He wanted to know why. Why she was staying silent. Something that was so unlike her, not that he really minded, but he still wanted to know why.

* * *

Hermione heard a tapping at her window and looked over at it there was an Owl waiting for her. She groaned and made her way over, she opened the window and the Owl immediately dropped an entire parcel of envelopes for her. She gave the bird a small treat and it went off. Quickly, she flipped through the envelopes extracting the ones which were from people she knew. Unsurprisingly there were letters from Harry, Ron and Ginny. She placed those on her table and then scanned the other envelopes once more to make sure she hadn't missed any. When she was satisfied she had all the letters from those she knew, she grabbed her sweater and wand and left her room. She walked out of her building with a stack of envelopes in her hands and came to stop by a dustbin that was just in front of a tree. She looked at the letters with utter disdain and threw them in the bin. Then she glanced around briefly, noting if anyone was around, there didn't seem to be. So she removed her wand and pointed it at the letters in the dustbin.

'Incendio.' She muttered and watched as flames started to engulf the envelopes and the other rubbish. She didn't move, her eyes transfixed on the flames.

'What are you doing?' A voice asked from behind her and she jumped. She knew that voice, and so before she turned around she steeled her face to not display any emotion. There leaning against the tree, which was a few feet away from her, was Draco Malfoy with his arms crossed wearing an expression Hermione couldn't quite make sense of.

'I don't really think that's any of your business.' Hermione replied harshly hoping the tone of finality in her voice registered with Draco and he would just leave her be.

'Well,' Draco said and cocked his head to the side. 'You better put it out before it grows anymore.' Hermione briefly glanced behind her and noted that the flames were getting larger. With the smallest flick of her wand she sent out a spray of water that immediately extinguished the flames. Then she looked down into the bin, her letters had been incinerated. Satisfied, she turned back to Draco.

'Tell me, what could heroic Hermione Granger be so intent on getting rid of that she would come down here and set fire to it?'

'Why don't I show you, Malfoy? I'm quite intent on getting rid of you.' Draco raised his eyebrows at her response and let out a bark of laughter. Hermione had not expected this reaction.

'Relax, Granger. I'm just curious.'

'Be curious about something else.' Hermione watched as Draco pushed himself off the tree and began walking closer to her. Her legs wanted her to take a few steps back but she willed herself to stay rooted to the spot. She would not give Draco Malfoy the satisfaction of thinking he bothered her.

'If you won't answer that, at least tell me why you aren't answering any questions in class?'

'What are you on about?' Hermione asked him with the slightest hint of annoyance seeping out of her.

'This entire week,' Draco began and at the same time he started twirling his wand between his fingers. 'You haven't answered one question that any of the Professor's have asked.' Hermione folded her arms.

'And what does it matter to you?' She bit out and Draco watched as a curl fell into her face.

'Well, I'm just curious if you were just trying to suck up to the teachers in Hogwarts? Or thought your know-it-all attitude would impress Potter or Weasley and whether-' Hermione having heard enough turned around and began to walk away not letting Draco finish. She was beginning to feel furious and she just wanted it stop. But Draco quickly fell in step with her.

'Malfoy,' Hermione said. 'I will hex you right here and right now. I want absolutely nothing to do with you.'

'Granger, you are rather uptight.' Malfoy continued ignoring her threat. His curiosity had finally gotten the better of him. Hermione abruptly stopped walking at his last comment and turned to glare at him.

'Does it take practice to be such a git or where you just born with this quality?' Draco smirked at her.

'I guess a mu-' Draco didn't manage to mutter another syllable because Hermione, without even really thinking about it, had muttered the first spell to come to her and Draco was now suspended upside down in the air.

'Malfoy, this isn't Hogwarts. I'm not a 13 year old girl anymore. If you ever call me that again,' she stopped herself and took a deep breath and caught his gaze. 'Did you learn nothing during these last few years?' Her words were icy and they seemed to sting Draco. Without another glance at him, she dropped him to the ground. He landed rather painfully on his wrist. She didn't bother to pay him a moment's notice after that and stormed off.

Draco stood up and gingerly held his wrist. He could help but watch as she walked away, something about her was different. There was an edge to her that hadn't been there before and Draco was beginning to understand something about Granger that he didn't think was possible.

* * *

It was Friday and Hermione was grateful for the upcoming weekend. She had sent an Owl to Harry to let him know that she would be visiting them for the weekend. She just had three classes to get through and then she would be done for the day and could apparate out of here. Her first class was Charms and she knew that today they would be assigned their partners. She got ready, grabbed some breakfast and then slowly began making her way to the class. When she reached it, she watched curiously as students gathered around a board and then in pairs seemed to be entering the classroom. The ones who tried to enter individually seemed to be hitting some sort of force shield. She let the cluster of students slowly disperse and then she approached the board.

'You aren't going to like it.' A dreamy voice said from behind her and Hermione turned to see Luna standing next to Blaise.

'Like what?' Hermione asked her and abandoned her search for her name and who she had been partnered with.

'Your partner, I actually think dislike is a mild word for your reaction to the news. Don't you, Blaise?' Luna asked him casually and he seemed to be caught off guard by the question. 'Anyway, you should have a look.' Luna continued not waiting for a response from either of them. Hermione turned away from Luna and could feel the dread already spreading across her body, making her feel cold all over. She knew it before she had even read the name.

'You have got to be joking.' Hermione said and leant her forehead against the wall.

'Oh. That was a lot calmer than I expected you to behave.' Luna commented again and Hermione turned back to them.

'Blaise,' Hermione said as steady as she could. 'Where is he?' This was the first time she had actually ever addressed Blaise and it was clear that he seemed taken aback by it. 'It seems we can't enter the classroom without our partners and Professor Rochester is in there. Which means if I want to change this, I have to get in there.'

'He will be here in a minute.' Blaise casually replied and then motioned for Luna to enter the classroom. Precisely a minute later Draco Malfoy appeared. More students were making their way into the room and he seemed to deduce what Hermione had when she first arrived. He made his way over to the board to check who his partner was but before he could even read the first name on the list a voice spoke behind him.

'I'm your partner.' Hermione said flatly and watched as a wide eyed Draco turned to stare at her.

'No, you can't be.' Draco said ineloquently and turned back to the board. Sure he was curious about her but he didn't want to have to work with her. Hermione waited as he confirmed what she had just told him. After a few moments, he turned back to her.

'As I'm sure you are aware we have to enter together,' Hermione began and pointed at the people entering in partners. 'So lets go, so we can talk to Professor Rochester and get this mess sorted out.'

'That is probably the most reasonable thing I have ever heard you say, Granger.' Hermione ignored Draco's quip and merely made her way to the front of the door. Draco joined her side a moment later. They quickly glanced at each other and then in sync took a step across the threshold. Hermione had the strangest sensation wash over her as she did, first she felt hot and like something had pricked her all over her body and then she felt a wave of coolness wash over her that seemed to relinquish any discomfort she had been feeling. Draco on the other hand seemed to experience the exact opposite of her, first he felt a coldness wash over him that seemed to take root in his bones and then a moment later a heat that warmed him all the way through. They stopped on the other side of the door and looked at each other.

'What just happened?' Draco asked her as if she was to blame. She shook her head and walked straight over to Professor Rochester.

'Professor,' she greeted him politely. 'Do you have a moment please?' she asked as Draco moved to her side. 'I'm Hermione Granger and this is Draco Malfoy.' She added a second later.

'I know.' Professor Rochester replied warmly and smiled at her. 'What can I do for you two?'

'Well, it's a bit awkward really but I can't be partnered with him.' Hermione said quietly so only the Professor and Draco could hear. 'Is there any chance of us being reassigned partners?' she asked him hopefully. The professor studied them and then turned to Draco.

'Why can't she be partnered with you?' Professor Rochester asked Draco instead of Hermione- something which she found rather odd.

'Well, honestly, Professor Rochester we have an extreme dislike for one another.' Draco said bluntly, he didn't see the need to sugarcoat the answer. Professor Rochester actually laughed at his response. He turned away from them for a moment and then returned later with two pieces of papers.

'You are both aware that I assigned partners based on your assignment that had to do with elemental Charms pertaining to individual's trait personalities?' Draco and Hermione both nodded. 'You also know that each person has specific elements within them that are fundamental to their person? And there are about 25 variations of elements and each person will have about 3-5?' Again Draco and Hermione nodded they both understood the theory behind elemental charms relating to personal traits. 'While you two,' he stated quite seriously going over their charts. 'Have the rarest combination of elements I have yet to see and I have been doing this for the past twenty years. What this means, I am afraid, is that I cannot assign you other partners. As the task at hand would then be too simple for you and you would fail my class.' Hermione and Draco stared at the professor with identical looks of horror.

'What were our results?' Draco asked after a few moments of awkward silence between the three of them.

'Ah, My Malfoy,' Professor Rochester smiled at him. 'That is for you two to figure out.'

'Professor, please there must be something that can be done.' Hermione added pleadingly and stared up at him.

'I'm afraid, Miss Granger there is not. Besides the elemental charm activated once you walked through those doors together, I can't undo it now even if I wanted too.' Hermione stared at the Professor and then looked at Draco, who like her, seemed to be trying to work out what had just happened. What did he mean?

'What do you mean, Professor?' Hermione asked him stunned.

'I mean the spells already been activated on you two.'

'What spell?' Draco said finally after seeming to come to his senses. Did this really just happen? And why was it that he kept thinking that exact line since he got here.

* * *

**A/N: A lot of things will be cleared up as the chapters continue, like Hermione's odd behaviour and the spell. Also please keep in mind that a mystery and more drama is coming. Please review if you liked it! Crossing fingers this gets more hits. **


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